National Organization on Disability chairman Tom Ridge is working to achieve consensus between government and private businesses on a proposed rule that would require federal contractors to track recruiting and hiring of people with disabilities.
Advocates for people with disabilities have renewed efforts to resolve the dispute over the Labor Department resolution that would require federal contractors to actively track recruiting and hiring of people with disabilities.
The National Organization on Disability (NOD) organized a forum during the last week of November that brought U.S. Department of Labor officials together with leaders from companies including Toys”R”Us, Sodexo, Prudential, and Pitney Bowes. The goal, according to NOD Chairman Tom Ridge, was to “have a constructive dialogue about how to ensure that the change is good for people with disabilities and good for business.”
Ridge had an op-ed published in The Philadelphia Inquirer at the beginning of December in which he stated his “disappointment” over resistance to the proposed rule from the business sector. While the former Republican governor of Pennsylvania acknowledged the language of the rule “could be more business-friendly,” he emphasized that its intent is to be a measuring tool that helps companies with efforts to employ people with disabilities, not a quota.
Besides, Ridge argued, the goal of achieving a workforce comprised of 7% persons with disabilities is readily attainable. He closes by saying that if the measure was already in place, many businesses may already have discovered they are in compliance with no additional changes to personnel being necessary. Ridge writes:
Employers report that an average of 3 percent of their workforces already consist of people with disabilities, according to a recent Harris survey for NOD and the Kessler Foundation. That’s probably an underestimation, because employers aren’t routinely tracking the statistic. So the 7 percent goal is well within reach.
What Ridge is referring to in part is the aspect of the proposed rule that would ask employees with disabilities to self-identify as such. Director of the Labor Department’s Office of Contract Compliance Policy Patricia Shiu has said before that conducting an anonymous, voluntary survey of the workforce would not violate privacy protections afforded these individuals by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Many advocates for people with disabilities have been echoing Shiu’s sentiment that self-identification could have a positive impact on changing perceptions about people with disabilities in the workplace. When the U.S. Office of Personnel Management conducted this type of survey over the summer, the total number of government workers with a disability rose by 9%.
Use the comments section to share your thoughts about the pros and cons of self-disclosure and the OFCCP’s proposed rule for tracking the recruiting and hiring of people with disabilities.
Image by Marion Doss.
MrEmanuel1223February 21, 2013great job, employed this against a much higher rated player and won !!! and i disliked using D4,because of to much book….and the fact that i have a short term memory loss….makes this a better win for me.thanx
Wow Nice very helpful content its was very informative nice keep writhing .